Humanity
by writehanded
Summary: In a world where pets look like humans, the concept of humanity is vague at best. Telling the difference between humans and animals is a daily stuggle. For Sasuke, it's not only a struggle—it's his life.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or any of his little buddies. If I did, it wouldn't play on daytime television, if you catch my meaning.

**Warnings: **Bad language, blatant and descriptive boy/boy romantic relationships. (In case you can't figure that out, it means slash, shounen-ai, yaoi, gay, however you want to put it.) If any of this offends you, you shouldn't read this story. Please don't flame me about it, because I will either ignore you or publicly make fun of you. Thankies.

**Author's Note: **Oh my gosh! New story! This is so cool!...Well, really, I shouldn't be starting a new multi-chaptered story, but...I really wanted to. Oh! That reminds me—yes, I did read and adore the story "Pet" by cutiechibi as well as a couple other stories about animal/human creatures. Let me just state now, I did not, I repeat, did _not_ take or copy the idea. I've wanted to do this story before I read others like it. My only point is this—please, please, _please_ don't think I copied anyone's idea. I will be very upset if you do! However, if you _do_ find a part that seems too similar to be coincidence, tell me about it. I'll either justify myself or edit the part.

Okay. Just wanted to get that out of the way. :smile: Alright, then! I hope you like my story! Reviewers will be loved!

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**Humanity  
**

Where the hell was it coming from?.!

Hatake Kakashi had been in every room of his house, and several twice, but he still didn't have the slightest clue where it was coming from. "It," of course, being _that noise._ _That noise,_ in this case, consisted of a series of timid, soft tapping sounds that Kakashi couldn't identify for his life. The curiosity and growing frustration ate and ate at him until now, when he finally was reaching his breaking point. So, standing lopsided and half-naked on his coffee table, he tangled his hands into his choppy silver hair, tilted his head back, and bellowed for help.

_"SASUKE!"_

There was a lengthy pause, and then the muted sound of a door opening came from the floor above. Kakashi picked up on Sasuke's light feet on the stairs, and a moment later, a very miffed _homo animalis_ appeared in the living room doorway.

The _homo animalis,_ who was named Sasuke at an early age, was one of the very last members of the acclaimed Uchiha species. As such, he was extremely desired. (Seventeen years ago, when Sasuke was auctioned off as a baby, Kakashi won the bidding war the old-fashioned way —bribery and nepotism.) However, even if Sasuke had been nothing but a common mutt, he would still be worth the price of a small yacht. Sasuke was, in a word, stunning. He was tall and lean, but not skinny—muscles as strong and pronounced as rope were wrapped around his shoulders, arms, and chest. His limbs were long and powerful, and the suggestive ridges of his stomach muscles were fully visible through any shirt. But in contrast with his somewhat intimidating figure, Sasuke's face seemed surprisingly innocent. Not sweet, obviously (Sasuke was _not_ sweet),but sort of...peaceful. Almost pure. His nose was unbroken and of perfect length. His jaw line led smoothly down to a carved chin and accentuated the slim curve of his neck. He had chiseled cheekbones that women would kill for. To top it off, the beautiful features were covered by immaculate alabaster skin.

Actually, Sasuke's skin was one of the first things people noticed about him. (The second being, of course, his sleek black cat ears and matching tail, which, in the Uchiha species, had been recently bred to perfection.) The skin was smooth and delicately white—the direct result of avoiding the sun. Even in bright light, where some light skin turned yellow- or green-ish, Sasuke's stayed totally pale, and it made him stand out amazingly.

In sharp contrast with his skin tone, Silas's hair was entirely dark. The color was such a deep black, in fact, that it almost looked blue. Sasuke's eyes embodied a similar optical illusion, color wise. They were a perfect midnight blue. The color was dark enough to commonly be mistaken for black at first glance. But no, Sasuke's eyes were blue. Deeply, darkly, fiercely blue. Terrifyingly blue. Beautifully blue.

Oh yeah, he was gorgeous all right, but a prickly little bastard. For the life of him, Kakashi couldn't figure out why he kept Sasuke. Yes, Sasuke was a passionately desired _homo animalis,_ a group a creatures that were literally created to be perfect pets, but Sasuke was about as pleasant to own as a mountain lion. (The only difference between the two cat-creatures was that, when Sasuke chewed Kakaski verbally, a mountain lion would chew Kakashi physically.) Well, to be honest, Kakashi kind of felt sorry for Sasuke. When he was up for auction as a kitten, Sasuke received all kinds of weird, obsessive attention. Mainly, Kakashi bought Sasuke so other people couldn't. So he could protect Sasuke.

Oh, and Sasuke's species was sexy beyond all reason. That too.

At the sight of his ingenious and somewhat loyal pet, Kakashi exhaled a heaving sigh of relief. "Hello, there, Sasuke," he said with a smile, the eye not covered by his bangs curving upwards.

Sasuke's tail twitched—a sure sign of his irritation, if his do-me-a-favor-and-die glare wasn't a clue. "What do you want?" he demanded sullenly, slim arms crossing of their own accord.

"I need your help, Sasuke," Kakashi admitted with his usual cheer, hopping down from the coffee table.

Sasuke waited. His tail twitched again.

"I need your sharp ears. I'm trying to identify a noise. I think it's—wait," Kakashi said, holding up a silencing hand. "...Did you hear that?"

Sasuke blinked. "What?"

"Shh...Listen. It's the most infuriating tapping noise. Shh..."

There was a brief silence, and then...A timid series of thumping sounds. Ah ha! There it was again. _That noise._

"What _is_ that?" Kakashi moaned, tearing at his scalp and pulling a complete 360.

"The knocking?"

"Is that what it is? Knocking?" Kakashi cocked his head, concentrating. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Knocking, then. But still: Where the hell is it coming from?.!"

"Try the door," Sasuke suggested flatly, turning and heading back up the stairs. The word "idiot" was left unspoken on his tongue.

Kakashi blinked. Then he smiled. "Oh, yes," he said, reaching an epiphany. "The door. Of course."

Kakashi strolled over to the door happily, wondering who in the world could be visiting. Maybe it was his boyfriend, Iruka, looking for some wild, late-night action. Ooh, kinky. Kakashi had never really considered Iruka the frisky, impulsive type (more the "Not here! We can't! Don't—ahh! Nn..." type), but hey—there's a first time for everything, right? Kakashi certainly hoped so.

With that thought in mind, Kakashi grabbed the doorknob and swung open his front door.

He blinked hard in surprise, and then his eyes popped at the incredible sight before him.

A young male, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old, stood on Kakashi's doorstep, and he was...beautiful. Kakashi had never seen someone like this before. The boy was...just..._breathtaking._

Of course, Sasuke was breathtaking as well, but in a completely different way. The two boys couldn't look more different. Sasuke was raven-haired and pale—this boy was blonde and tanned. Sasuke's face was cold and calculating and perfect—this boy's face was innocent enough to make hearts hurt. Sasuke's ears were shiny and totally dark—this boy's ears were fuzzy and yellow. Sasuke's tail was black and sleek to match his ears—this boy's tail was fluffy and blonde to match his. Sasuke's eyes were so dark they were almost black—this boy's eyes were so bright they were almost stars. Sasuke was a fallen angel—this boy was God's finest. Sasuke blazed with a fierce, icy intensity—this boy glowed with the untapped potential to love.

"Oh," Kakashi remarked softly, his eyebrows up in his hairline. The boy, or, more accurately, the _homo animalis,_ looked lost. He looked lost, disoriented, vaguely frightened, somewhat embarrassed, and, due to the current thunderstorm, utterly soaked, too. And painfully, _painfully_ beautiful.

Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Well...You're not Iruka."

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Sasuke was pissed off. Well, to be frank, he was almost always in a state of pissed-off-ness, but today he felt particularly peeved. He wasn't sure why. It wasn't Kakashi's idiotic "noise" escapade a few minutes ago—Sasuke was so used to Kakashi's stupidity, he hardly even noticed it anymore. Sasuke just felt... _off._ Something was different. A new scent, maybe. Maybe it was something in the air...?

Sasuke had no idea, and that unnerved him—Sasuke _always_ had an idea. Human or not, he was one bright kid. He couldn't remember the last time he was stumped, and now that he was, it was seriously getting under his skin.

So, in conclusion, Sasuke was pissed off.

"Uh, Sasuke..." Sasuke rolled over on his bed, pointedly ignoring Kakashi's distant call. "Sasuke, please come here. I think there's something here you should...err, there might be a...You should take a look at something." Sasuke's ears twitched. Kakashi sounded kind of...weird. Maybe there _was _something happening downstairs.

Too bad Sasuke didn't care.

Kakashi's loud sigh could be heard all the way up the stairs. "Look, Sasuke," he said. "I _seriously_ think you should come downstairs. Uh, yeah. We need to talk about something." There was a short pause. "Sasuke! If you don't get down here this instant, so help me, I'll turn on the internal sprinklers. I swear to _God_ I will. Sasuke, I'm warning you!"

Sasuke sighed heavily. Goddamn it, he hated those sprinklers. Contrary to what Kakashi said, they weren't installed as a fire-protection feature—they were installed as a threaten-Sasuke feature. Well, it seemed Sasuke had no choice now. He knew from past experience that Kakashi wasn't bluffing. _Damn that Kakashi. Damn him to hell._

As he left his room, Sasuke's scowl could petrify. _Damn that Kakashi. Damn him to hell._

Sasuke trotted down the stairs sulkily. _Stupid, stupid Kakashi,_ Sasuke mentally growled as he entered the living room. _What's his problem now? Dumb human probably got his clothes stuck in the door or something. Now I'm going to have to— _

Sasuke blinked and his ears twitched, prickling awareness bubbling over his skin. There was that weird scent again. That smell that Sasuke couldn't name. It was here, in this room, and it was stronger than ever. And it was coming directly from...

Sasuke's thought processes stopped abruptly.

Sound seemed to muffle. Sasuke couldn't tell if he was breathing or not, but he must have stopped because he felt sort of faint.

There was a boy, in the living room, and he was stunning. Literally.

The boy was standing in the middle of the room, turned toward Sasuke but not yet noticing him, shivering almost violently, a drenched towel wrapped around his slim shoulders. As he stood there, buckets of rainwater sloshed off his trashy clothing (which looked more like rags than anything) and soaked the carpet. A yellow, slightly puffy tail brushed the wet floor. The water made the cheap clothing fiercely hug the boy's body, showing off every ridge, muscle, and slope of his lewd little figure. Everything about the boy was long and slender, specifically resulting in elegant limbs and a perfectly lean torso. Even his fingers looked slim and delicate. Sasuke couldn't help giving the other boy a lusty once-over, his eyes being tugged downwards. _Man. _Chiseled abs...long legs...sensual hips...and _holy shit,_ look at the size of that—

Sasuke swallowed hard.

Then Sasuke glanced at the boy's face. The overhead lights leaked down from the ceiling and glinted off the glass coffee table, framing the boy's head, and if Sasuke didn't know better, he would have sworn the light was a halo. The boy had tan skin that looked unbearably soft. His hair was made of this flaxen, magical stuff that looked for all the world like sunlight. Two triangular, yellow ears twitched and shivered on top of the dripping blonde hair. His face was open and innocent.

Abruptly, Sasuke's gaze was pulled to the boy's eyes, as if by a physical force. At almost the same time, the boy's blonde ears twitched, and he glanced into Sasuke's face.

Sasuke's pupils dilated. The boy's eyes were blue, gapingly, infinitely blue, as bright and immortal as the sea. They were enormous eyes, almost oddly so, but they didn't look strange on the boy, somehow—just mysterious and strikingly angelic. Sasuke felt himself sinking hopelessly into those eyes, drowning in that perfect blue.

"...about, Sasuke."

Sasuke's ears twitched at the sound of his name, making his awareness spike and his eyes blink. He came back to himself hard, wrenching his eyes away from the other boy's. The slightest tinge of embarrassment colored his face.

He glanced over to Kakashi, who until this moment Sasuke hadn't noticed was in the room. But there he was, smiling that goddamn knowing smile of his. Renewed irritation flared as Sasuke took in Kakashi's stupid cheerful face.

"Repeat yourself," Sasuke demanded of his owner, pale arms deciding to cross.

Kakashi's smile took on smirk-like qualities. He gestured toward the dripping blonde stranger. "This is what I called you about, Sasuke," Kakashi repeated helpfully.

"Hn."

Sasuke risked another glance at the strange boy, hoping he'd keep his newly found composure. The boy was now blushing and examining the water-logged toes of his decrepit sneakers. Luckily, this meant that his amazing blue eyes were not on Sasuke's, which in turn meant that Sasuke could think fairly clearly.

"Since you're the only _homo animalis_ that I've ever been in close contact with," Kakashi explained to Sasuke. "I am by no means an expert. I figured having another of you little guys around would help me figure out what to do."

Sasuke consciously ignored the "little guy" comment. His tail twitched with the effort. "What do you want?"

"Talk to him," Kakashi said, pointing to the blonde boy. "He says he's a stray and he asked for a place to wait out the rainstorm, but that's all I've been able to get out of him. He seems pretty freaked out. I guess he's not too used to humans."

Sasuke was silent. Kakashi pushed out his lower lip in a poor excuse for a pout. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, Sasu-chan?"

Sasuke glared. He _hated_ that nickname. And knowing Kakashi, he would continue to poke at Sasuke until the pet did exactly as his owner asked. _Damn that Kakashi. Damn him to hell._

Sasuke sighed inaudibly. "...Fine."

Kakashi grinned up to his ears. "Aw, thank you Sasu-chan!"

"Shut up."

Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets and walked over to the blonde. The boy was still staring at his shoes.

"Hey," Sasuke said. The boy looked up shyly through his wet bangs. _God, his eyes are beautiful,_ Sasuke thought with a swallow.Sasuke nearly lost his breath all over again.

Instead he simply blinked, thanking whatever god existed for natural Uchiha composure. The blonde didn't seem to have as lucky genetics—he blushed.

"...Let's go upstairs," Sasuke said, shooting a peeved glare at the all-too-interested Kakashi. The blonde nodded mutely, his eyes firmly back on the carpet.

"Oh, I get it!" Kakashi called as the _homo animalia _headed up the stairs. "Swell idea, Sasuke! I think I might phone Iruka right now about that very same thing. Splendid, splendid. Have fun, you two! Tell me how it goes! And for God's sake Sasuke, be gentle. I don't want the poor guy not being able to sit for the next two weeks—" Kakashi's voice was abruptly cut off with the violent slamming of Sasuke's door. Plaster could be heard shattering in the walls.

From his place in the living room, Kakashi smiled. Things were going to get a hell of a lot more interesting around here.

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"Take your shoes off," Sasuke commanded. He knew he sounded rude, but he was annoyed. The kid was ruining his carpet.

The blonde immediately complied, shucking off his ruined sneakers and kicking them into a corner.

"Socks too."

The socks were taken off just as obediently as the shoes, and they too were thrown into the corner.

"...You'd better just take all your clothes off," Sasuke said after a pause, a barely visible blush grazing his cheekbones. "You're going to freeze otherwise."

Off went the clothes. Flimsy jacket, threadbare t-shirt, oversized/ripped jeans. With every article of clothing that came off, Sasuke's desire for the other boy increased exponentially. Water droplets rolled down tanned skin, provocative muscles rippled, lithe parts twisted and writhed. Sasuke's eyes traced the boy's natural body lines down to the hard, scooping plane just below his hips—that innocently seductive expanse of skin that sloped infuriatingly out of sight and teased Sasuke's eyes to the fullest extent.

When the blonde placed an unabashed hand on the waistband of his boxers, Sasuke almost moaned.

"W-wait," Sasuke got out, kicking himself for his stutter. The blonde paused and looked up, his blue eyes shimmering. The boy was so innocent, it was nearly painful.

Sasuke swallowed. "You can leave those on," he said evenly after a moment's pause. He turned to his dresser and pulled out a non-descript dark shirt, tossing it at the blonde. The other boy was examining one of Sasuke's lamps with interest (God knows why), and he didn't notice the t-shirt until it hit him in the face.

"Put that on," Sasuke said. He sat on the floor as the blonde did as he was told. A moment later, the blonde hesitantly took a seat across from Sasuke, loosely pulling his knees to his chest.

Silence.

"So," Sasuke said blankly.

Shit. He hated talking to people. He was a really lousy conversationalist, mostly because he never got in any practice. Did he mention that he hated talking to people? And how was he supposed to talk to some guy he'd just met, anyway? Not to mention Sasuke's raging lust. How the _hell_ was he supposed to politely chat with this kid when, in actuality, Sasuke felt an extremely strong (and, admittedly, animalistic) urge to simply jump him? Talk about awkward situations.

Sasuke exercised one of his angsty, inaudible sighs. _May as well start with the basics._

"So," Sasuke repeated. "...What's your name?"

The blonde's large ears twitched. "Naruto," he said. His voice was a tenor, a little raspy, and slightly nasal. It possessed the flaring potential to be annoying, but somehow, there was a slight allure in it.

"Naruto, huh? I'm Sasuke."

"Sasuke," Naruto repeated, his face serious and oddly intense. Naruto was silent, and for a few moments, and everything was still. Then Naruto shattered his contemplative state was a grin, showing off the most dazzling smile that Sasuke had ever seen. "Sasuke. I like it!" the blonde proclaimed.

Sasuke blinked in surprise. "Um...thanks."

Naruto dropped his knees into a relaxed Indian-style, his hands in his lap. "So, Sasuke," Naruto started. "What breed are you? It's a cat one, right? I bet it's a cat one. Nine lives, yeah?" Naruto's yellow tail swished joyfully behind him.

Sasuke allowed himself a tiny, tiny smile. He wasn't sure when shy-blushing-mute Naruto had turned into happy-smiling-chatty Naruto, but he decided that change could be good.

"I'm an Uchiha," Sasuke said, wiping the smile off his face.

Naruto's eyes widened comically. "Whoa...Dude, that's awesome!" he said, leaning forward enthusiastically. "See, I _knew_ you'd be a cool one. A real Uchiha. That's amazing Sasuke! I kind of thought you guys were all extinct."

Sasuke's midnight blue eyes darkened several shades. "...We almost are."

Naruto's face fell. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sasuke," he said. The sympathetic ping in his voice sounded very sincere. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm one of the last of my breed, too."

Sasuke glanced up. "Oh? And which would that be?" His voice was perfectly impassive, but his twitching ears gave away his interest.

Naruto grinned, showing off his spectacular smile for a second time. He seized the hem of his (err, Sasuke's) shirt and pulled it up to his chest, fully exposing his taut stomach muscles. Naruto pointed proudly to his navel. Sasuke tried very hard to follow Naruto's finger and to not, for example, stare at that spot below Naruto's hips that Sasuke had so recently noticed—that lewd, tantalizing patch of tanned skin that sloped down and under to better things...

Shit. He was thinking about it again, wasn't he? Damn this kid and his bewitching sex appeal!

Sasuke blinked and quickly refocused. Naruto was pointing to something that appeared to be a birthmark. The mark was dark and a little raw looking, almost like a scar. It swirled around Naruto's belly button in an open-ended, slightly jagged spiral.

"Uzumaki!" Naruto sang out, sounding almost patriotic.

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. No way. He could not have possibly heard what he just thought he heard. "...You're an Uzumaki?"

"Believe it!" Naruto said with a grin, dropping his shirt.

Sasuke's ears were twitching so hard, he reached up with both hands to physically still them. "...That's impossible. The Uzumaki species isn't released anymore. They stopped breeding them years ago."

Naruto cocked his head with a sly grin. "Sasuke, are you trying to break it to me that I don't exist?"

Sasuke was silent. This wasn't possible. It just wasn't possible. It couldn't be.

Around sixteen years ago, the breeding of the Uzumaki species had been decreed illegal, on the basis that the creatures were too dangerous. At first, the public found this very hard to believe—by default, members of the Uzumaki breed were beautiful and carefree, gifted with the ability to love with a fierce loyalty that would last their entire lives. But over time, the people at H.A.P., _Homo Animalis Project,_ discovered something that they had never expected: the Uzumaki breed was developing a new defense mechanism, one that was independent of any human creation and/or regulation. The scientists called it "Kyuubi."

When an Uzumaki was in incredible danger, under extreme stress, or was experiencing ferociously strong emotional trauma, Kyuubi would "come out." The Uzumaki would receive an unimaginable boost in strength, stealth, and ruthlessness. Kyuubi would push the pet's personality and reason into the creature's subconscious, leaving unrestrained fury to coil and burst in an extremely powerful, amazingly destructive, and viciously brutal body. In essence, a demon would be released.

Now, since it was illegal to breed them, the Uzumaki species was hanging on by a thread.

So, in conclusion, Naruto's claim was impossible.

Right?

"...Are you really an Uzumaki?" Sasuke asked dubiously.

Naruto sighed loudly. "Yes, Sasuke, I really am," he said, rolling those gorgeous eyes in gentle exasperation. "Dude, you might not believe _me,_ but the mark doesn't lie. Look it up if you want to." He grinned. "And you know what being an Uzumaki means, don't you?"

"Um, no."

"It means that..." Naruto gave Sasuke a sly look. "I'm a fox."

Sasuke's ears twitched. He liked foxes. More specifically, his pheromones liked foxes. Which, coupled with the wildly raging hormones of a teenaged human boy, meant a lot. Damn pheromones.

"Well, that explains the ears and the tail," Sasuke said evenly.

"Yep." Said ears twitched proudly.

"But...the Uzumaki species is so rare these days...How come you're a stray?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno, really," he said. "Well, my mom and dad have been dead for as long as I can remember, and I guess their owner just didn't want me or something. I lived with a group of strays for a while when I was younger, but one day I woke up and they were gone. So since then I've sort of just lived by myself."

"How do you eat?"

Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish grin on his face. "Sometimes I perform on the street. You know, like weird dances and stuff people tell me to do. I get some money for that. And other times...well...I kinda, sorta... _borrow_ food."

"You steal."

"Heh-heh...I like to think of it as 'leasing with no intent to return.' Like going to the library."

"...You're supposed to return library books."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Really?"

Sasuke sighed. This kid was unbelievable. "Very real," Sasuke said flatly.

"No shit?"

"No shit."

Naruto leaned back, propping himself up with his hands. "Huh. I did not know that."

"I bet you didn't."

"Oops."

"'Oops' indeed."

There were a few moments of silence. Then Naruto's ears twitched. He blushed slightly and glanced and the floor. "Ano...Sasuke..." he started.

"What?"

Naruto gave a nervous chuckle. "Well...Okay, um, this is weird and kind of...extremely embarrassing to say..."

"Say it or don't, Naruto."

"Okay!" Naruto's blushed darkened. "Erm, I was just wondering what kind of shampoo you usebecauseyousmellreallygood."

The last part of the sentence came out in a jumbled rush. Even with his sharp hearing, Sasuke could barely pick apart the words. But when he did, he felt himself smirk.

"Thanks, Naruto, but that scent isn't shampoo."

Naruto cocked his head. His tail swished curiously. "It's not?"

"No. It's not." Sasuke looked positively smug. "It's my pheromones."

Naruto blinked. "What's a pheromone?"

Sasuke smirked again. "Pheromone. Noun. From the Greek 'pherein' meaning 'to carry' or 'to see.' A chemical secreted by an animal, including insects, that influences the behavior or development of others of the same or similar species, often functioning as an attractant of a possible mate and/or the opposite sex. In other words..." Sasuke paused to rephrase. "...You've got the hots for me."

Naruto turned a delectable shade of crimson. "W-what!"

"I'll take it as a compliment," Sasuke drawled.

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They talked. They talked for hours. Sasuke didn't know what to make of this kid. Naruto was tireless. The little blonde single-handedly drove the many branches of their conversation—people, pets, the city of Konoha, the weird high school that _homo animalia_ had to attend that Naruto had never been to, Kakashi (who was a teacher at said school), Kakashi and Iruka, and, through Kakashi and Iruka's relationship (and to Sasuke's smug delight), boys and boys.

Sasuke had never spoken, or been spoken to, for so long in his life. He couldn't say that he liked it, because he didn't, but Naruto was certainly entertaining.

The boys only paused in their chatter once, around ten, when Naruto clutched his stomach and moaned for food. Sasuke led the blonde down the stairs, acutely aware of Naruto's sudden silence. As they passed through the living room, Sasuke's ears twitched as he picked up on quiet, oh-too-familiar noises. He sighed.

"Hi, Iruka," he said flatly, deciding to alert Kakashi and his boyfriend to the boys' presences.

Two heads poked up from their hidden position behind the couch. Kakashi was smiling cheerfully and his hair was in incredible disarray. Iruka, Kakashi's tanned and slightly younger boyfriend, was blushing madly and had very visible love-marks on his jaw and neck. Both men lacked shirts, and probably other clothing as well.

"Oh, heh-heh, h-hello, Sasuke," Iruka stuttered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Kakashi gave a little wave. "Hey, guys," he said. "Having fun?"

Iruka blinked, just seeming to spot Naruto, who had shrunk back into the doorway. "Oh, Sasuke," Iruka said. "Who's your friend?"

Sasuke glared at Kakashi briefly. "...His name is Naruto," he answered Iruka, turning sharply and heading into the kitchen. Naruto followed with hurried, shuffling steps. The kitchen door swung shut behind them, and there was a moment of contemplative silence in the living room.

"...Naruto, huh?" Kakashi repeated thoughtfully.

Iruka blinked. "You didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"His name."

"Nope."

"But...isn't he yours?"

"Nope. He showed up on my doorstep some hours ago. Says he's a stray. I'm going to let him stay the night. Sexy little thing, isn't he?"

"He's...attractive," Iruka said carefully. "But about ten years too young for you. I hope you're not planning to...advance on him."

Kakashi leered and placed a hand on Iruka's chest, seductively pushing the other man back to the floor. "Why, Iru-chan? Are you..." He leaned down to whisper in Iruka's ear. "...jealous?"

Iruka colored slightly. "Don't be ridiculous," he said. "I'm just _saying_—"

"Of course you are," Kakashi interrupted, pushing his hands through Iruka's dark hair. He settled his bare body on top of his boyfriend's, boldly parting Iruka's legs with one of his own. He heard Iruka's muffled gasp and smirked. "Now...where were we?"

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In the kitchen, a very hungry fox-boy stared in awe. Naruto had never seen this much food in his life! And this room was so _clean,_ too. Often, Naruto just bought a packet of Pop-Tarts or instant ramen (that latter of which, conveniently, he loved), and would eat it as he walked. And those times when he was forced to lease with no intent to return, it was usually just an apple or something off a stand, and he would eat it hiding behind a building or in a public bathroom. This room was shining and white, with a full refrigerator and packed cabinets, with a counter and lots of chairs to sit on.

Sasuke casually walked over to the refrigerator as if he did it everyday. (And, Naruto realized, he probably did.) Sasuke wrenched open the door, and the kitchen was flooded with bright light and flowing cold. When he realized Naruto wasn't following him (instead, the fox-boy was paralyzed and drooling in the center of the room), Sasuke glanced over his shoulder.

"Oi, get over here," Sasuke commanded. "You're letting the cold out."

Naruto blinked and spurred himself into movement. He went over to the fridge and hesitantly ran his fingers over the food. Look at it all! Naruto identified everything as he touched it: milk (1, 2, whole, fat free, and half and half), orange juice (pulp and no pulp), water, four kinds of soda, chicken, roast beef, hamburger meat, sliced turkey, tuna, potato salad, a variety of pasta, yogurt, applesauce, broccoli, carrots, a plethora of fruit, and the three remaining slices of a chocolate cake.

_Holy God._

"You're drooling, dobe."

Naruto blinked. "Dobe? What do you mean, 'dobe'?"

"I mean 'dobe,' dobe. It means 'dead last.' Would you prefer that?"

"No! Don't call me that! And don't call me 'dobe,' either, you bastard!"

Sasuke smirked. "Just pick your food. Dobe."

Naruto growled softly but returned his gaze to the fridge. He studied the contents in silence for a few minutes.

"Ano...Do you have any ramen?"

Jesus. How much could this kid eat?

After inhaling three cups of instant ramen, Naruto had gone through a packet of roast beef, two cans of tuna, a cup of yogurt, an entire carton of milk, a piece of cake, and exactly twenty-three pieces of potato salad. (Not that Sasuke was keeping track or anything.)

Now, _finally,_ the little fox-pig seemed to be full. He sat back in his chair, placing his hands on his stomach, which, miraculously, remained totally flat.

"Ahh..." Naruto said, grinning. "That hit the spot. Thanks, Sasuke." His ears twitched and he opened his eyes. "Sasuke. You didn't eat anything!"

It was true. Sasuke was sitting with his hands innocently empty of food.

"Why didn't you eat anything, Sasuke?" Naruto wanted to know. "Are you sick?"

"Actually, yeah, now that you mention it. You repulsive eating habits have made me ill. I'm feeling rather nauseous, to tell you the truth."

Naruto puffed out his cheeks in an offended manner. "Sasuke, you bastard! I'm not—"

"Oh, shut up. I'll get something, okay?"

Sasuke got up and grabbed a carton of cream from the refrigerator. He took a glass down from a cupboard and rejoined Naruto at the counter. He popped open the carton and poured himself a full glass. After all of this was completed silently and Sasuke had taken a deep gulp, he noticed a weird smile on Naruto's face.

"What?"

"Sasuke," Naruto said slyly. "...You're drinking milk."

"So?" Sasuke said, scoffing. "You drank milk too. A whole carton." Sasuke took another sip.

"Yeah, but that's _cream._ And you're a _cat._" A pause. "Well, sort of."

"Yeah? What of it?" Another large gulp. Sasuke's glass was now more than half empty.

"_Well..._" Naruto said slowly, as if speaking to a very small child. "You're acting very cattish. And the word 'cattish' sometimes means 'girly.' So, therefore, you're acting like a girl!"

"Hey, Naruto."

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"...You're an idiot."

"What!.?"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"_Yes._"

"No way!"

"Way."

"No, no, no!"

"Yes, yes, yes."

"No one thousand!"

"Yes infinity."

"...But I don't wanna!"

"And I don't give a shit. Do it."

"_Me?_ Why do _I_ have to do it? Why can't _you_ do it?"

"Because this is _my_ room, Naruto. _I'm_ not going to sleep on the couch."

"But I'm the guest!"

"So?"

"So I should get what I want!"

"Says who?"

"Says...Says manners! Yeah, manners! I'm the guest, and I'm supposed to get what I want! And I want to sleep in a bed for once!"

"Well, it's my bed. And I want to sleep in it too."

"Well, then I guess we have a problem!"

"I guess we do."

"...Well...I suppose...I guess...Maybe we could—"

"No."

"No what?"

"I know what you're going to say. And the answer is no."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to share my bed with you."

"Why?"

"Because I don't."

"Why?"

"_Because._"

"Because _why?_"

"..."

"What? I can't hear you, Sasuke."

"...Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"_Fine._"

"Fine?"

"Yes, fine!"

"Well, fine then!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"_Fine!_"

"_Fine!_"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

"_FINE!_"

"**_FINE!_**"

--------------------------------------------------------------

No, not fine. Not fine at all. This wasn't good. This was _so_ not good.

Sasuke lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Naruto was asleep next to him, having passed out cold nearly an hour before. Sasuke wished he could join him, but he was having a slight problem...

Okay, so maybe his problem wasn't so slight. Maybe his problem was rather...large. And stubbornly refusing to _just go down._

Sasuke scowled and rolled onto his side, his face to the wall. He pulled the blanket over his head and shut his eyes tightly.

_Stupid hard-ons. Stupid pheromones. Stupid Naruto!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Warnings: **See previous chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own them, and I still want to. :grumble:

**Author's Note: **Chapter two, baby! I was amazed how much you guys liked this story! I'm sorry I took so long to update it, but I was busy with "I Love Teaching"...Anyway. I finally updated! Unfortunately, like "I Love Teaching," I must warn you —my updates are probably going to take a lot longer. I'll try my best, of course, but my school work's got to come first. I wish it wasn't so, but that's the truth.

I'm just as upset as you are, if not more so. In fact, MORE SO!. :pouts:

Ahem. Anyways...Here it is! The long awaited chapter two! I hope you guys like it! Rate and review, everybody!. :grins Uzumaki-style:

---------------------------------------------------

Naruto couldn't remember the last time that he had slept on a pillow. Being a stray, he lacked a bed, so he rarely had the luxury of sleeping through the night—instead, he caught what rest he could by napping fitfully throughout the day, on benches or (preferably) in public indoor spaces, rarely sleeping for longer than an hour a time. Naruto had carried a blanket around for a while, but someone stole it off him while he slept a while back. He had used the blanket as a cushion for his head and highly sensitive ears, but for some time he had lacked even this. So, in conclusion, he was very un-used to pillows.

Naruto decided, in his hazy, mostly-asleep state, that he liked pillows. He liked them a lot. They were extraordinarily comfortable, offering the perfect fusion between firmness and snuggly pliancy. And they were really warm, too. And they smelled absolutely...delicious. In a very different way from food, certainly, but just as alluringly enticing, if not more so. In fact, _more so._ Naruto found himself loving the smell, burying his nose into the pillow to get more of it. The pillow responded by pressing itself more firmly against Naruto's body, releasing a warm sigh into his hair.

Oh, yeah. That was the other thing about pillows, Naruto had discovered. They breathed, apparently. That was cool, too.

...Wait a second.

...Pillows _breathed?_ Since fucking _when?_

Naruto's azure eyes promptly snapped open.

Naruto quickly realized that he was in a very...interesting...situation. He was hopelessly entangled in a mass of warm, pale, lithe limbs. His head was cradled on someone's muscular chest, and his skull softly rose and fell as the person took in oxygen. Naruto's right leg was looped possessively around his bed-mate's slim hips, and he was fisting both a handful of shirt and a handful of silky raven hair. His bed-mate's legs were softly rubbing the insides of his thighs, and strong arms had found their way around Naruto's waist, pushing up the voluminous folds of the Uzumaki's borrowed nightshirt. Naruto noticed also, with no small amount of alarm, that a rigid hard-on was digging into his side. Equally alarming was that fact that Naruto sported an impressive erection of his own, which throbbed and twitched with uncomfortable need.

Naruto gulped, feeling an unusual mix of embarrassment and arousal. He cleared his throat audibly and shifted into a less suggestive position. He cleared his throat again, then he poked his bed-mate roughly in the shoulder.

"Sasuke," he said.

No response.

"Sa-su-ke," Naurto repeated loudly, over-accentuating the syllables.

Nothing.

Naruto paused. He thought for a moment in silence. Then he relaxed his throat and gently laid his hands on Sasuke's chest, his eyes large and unfocused with lust. "Please, Sasuke-sama," Naruto breathed huskily. "...Fuck me."

Sasuke's eyes opened instantly. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Naruto said loftily. "Just...good morning, Sasuke!"

Sasuke fixed the Uzumaki with an incredulous stare for a moment. Then he scowled.

"...I'm going back to sleep," he proclaimed grumpily, flopping onto his stomach and burying his face into his pillow. (Which was, as it happened, a _real_ pillow.)

Naruto sighed dramatically. "Alright," he said. "But I just think I'd ought to warn you...I haven't had a hot shower in over a month. I fully intend to make up for all that lost time...as soon as I turn on the water. So I hope you like cold showers."

_Actually,_

Naruto thought with a blush. _Maybe he should take a cold shower. Maybe we both should. _Naruto's blush darkened at the mental images the words "both" and "shower" in context of Sasuke began to conjure.

After a long silence, Sasuke finally lifted his head from the pillow.

"...I'm showering first," he growled.

---------------------------------------------------------

One hour and a half, two showers, a few attempted outfits, and many, many shouted insults later, Sasuke and Naruto began heading downstairs. Sasuke was dressed head to toe in his typical, form-fitting black ensemble. Naruto was a different story. That morning, for some reason, Naruto's clothes had been no where to be found. They had simply disappeared. So after searching in vain for nearly twenty minutes, Sasuke gave Naruto a pair of his smallest jeans and a horrible orange shirt that he doubted he'd worn once. As Sasuke suspected, the jeans were still a bit large, and ended up clinging to Naruto's hips for dear life. Miraculously, however, Naruto adored the shirt. He proclaimed it his favorite piece of clothing and impulsively wrapped Sasuke in a hug by way of thanks. Sasuke was hit with the sudden urge to shove his hands down Naruto's pants, but fortunately, he was able to restrain himself —he did so by stamping on his own foot.

But anyway. The point is, they went downstairs.

Once again, Sasuke noticed Naruto's changing demeanor as they left the privacy of Sasuke's room. Naruto became instantly and completely silent. It was weird—for Naruto, anyway, who Sasuke had pegged as as a loud-mouth. Obviously, Naruto became shy in the company of people he didn't know. Or maybe it was just humans. Maybe Naruto didn't want to attract the attention of Kakashi by speaking. Sasuke thought he could understand, at least slightly—humans had been nothing but mean, if not worse, to Naruto for as long as the _homo animalis_ could remember. From experience, Naruto seemed to think that avoiding contact with humans was the safest course of action.

Maybe the blonde wasn't as stupid as Sasuke had once thought.

...Maybe.

Sasuke's suspicions were confirmed as the two boys stepped foot into the kitchen. Naruto immediately stiffened as he noticed the pair of humans who also inhabited the room. Kakashi was sprawled gracelessly at the kitchen table, languidly scratching his uncovered and unshaven jaw, skimming the newspaper with drooping eyelids. Iruka, unsurprisingly, had spent the night, and he was now standing at the stove, cooking something that smelled like pancakes.

Sasuke watched Naruto's muscles instantly clench and his pupils simultaneously dilate. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. So. Naruto was shy of humans. Interesting.

Just then, Kakashi glanced up from his newspaper. His eyes opened more widely as he took in Naruto's disheveled form—more specifically, Naruto's disheveled form dressed in Sasuke's old clothes. Kakashi giggled inwardly.

_Aw, _he thought, the eye not hidden beneath his bangs curving happily._ Sasuke gave him some clothes. How cute. _

Sasuke glared at his owner as he stepped more fully into the kitchen. Naruto followed him a little too closely for comfort, but luckily, Sasuke's attention was diverted by his irritation.

"What the hell are you looking so cheerful about?" Sasuke grumbled, gracefully sweeping his tail to the side as he took his seat at the table. Naruto plunked down next to him, his breathing a little faster than usual and his breathtaking blue eyes pinned to the floor.

"Oh, nothing in particular," Kakashi crooned. "It's just...Well, since Naruto is obviously wearing _your_ clothes, I was wondering if he was wearing your underwear as well, or if he was naked under those cute little jeans."

Naruto's face turned a delectable shade of red at this remark, his mortified gaze flying up to Kakashi's face. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at the lewd, though infuriatingly arousing, comment. It almost looked like he was blushing slightly, but that was probably just the way the light was hitting him.

"I'm wearing my own underwear!" Naruto shouted vehemently, making wide, very bizarre hand gestures as if they would somehow validate his proclamation by default.

"What was that?" Iruka asked over his shoulder as he turned off the stove, only picking up on the otherwise quiet conversation due to Naruto's shouted statement.

Naruto quieted immediately, placing his hands in his lap and lowering his chin, though his face was still incredibly pink.

"Naruto was describing his underwear to me," Kakashi said happily. "I told him that that was quite inappropriate, but he was quite insistent. I think it was his way of coming on to —"

Kakashi's sentence was abruptly cut short as Iruka's frying pan came down on his head. Kakashi froze in place for a moment, then fell forward onto the table with an audible thunk, lying as if dead. Iruka glared at his boyfriend's splayed profile for a moment before turning his attention to the two _homo animalia_ who sat silently watching him—one in boredom, the other in fascination.

"Good morning, Sasuke," Iruka said.

"Hn."

"And...good morning to _you_ as well," Iruka said to the Uzumaki with a smile. "...Naruto, was it?"

Naruto nodded, his eyes shifting uneasily around Iruka's face—not quite looking at him, but close.

"I'm Iruka," the man continued. "It's nice to meet you, Naruto."

Naruto nodded again, mysteriously and stubbornly silent.

Iruka lifted a questioning eyebrow to Sasuke, who responded with a couldn't-care-less kind of shrug.

"So, Naruto," Iruka said after a moment. "...Do you like pancakes?"

The magic words.

Naruto's face lit up, his eyes widening and flashing with renewed brilliance. Iruka found himself catching his breath ever so slightly at the boy's imminent beauty.

"Do I ever!" Naruto shouted, promptly standing up in his excitement. Sasuke's ears twitched in annoyance, protesting both the loud voice and the irritating scraping of the chair across the kitchen floor.

Iruka laughed softly. "Well, good. I was hoping you'd say that." Iruka went back over to the stove, picking up a plate that he had set down next to it. He carried it back to the table, as well as four empty plates and four glasses. Iruka set the plate, which now obviously held an impressive pile of pancakes, in the center of the table. Naruto practically started drooling.

"How many would you like?" Iruka asked warmly.

Naruto licked his lips, then swallowed. "How many have you got?"

Iruka laughed. "Well...There are four of us, and I've got twelve. So if we split them evenly, you'd get three. However, I'm not very hungry, and quite willing to give up one if you want it. Kakashi seems to be out of commission—"

"No I'm not!" Kakashi proclaimed, sitting up with a start. Iruka rolled his eyes.

"My apologies," Iruka replied dryly. "Anyway...Sasuke, do you—"

"Naruto can have mine," Sasuke said.

Naruto blinked several times, his eyes freakishly huge. "Seriously?"

"Yes, are you sure, Sasuke?" asked Iruka. "You really should eat something. I know you're not the biggest fan of pancakes, or an especially big eater at all, now that I think of it, but you should really have some breakfast."

"Most important meal of the day," Kakashi added, enthusiastically extracting his three pancakes from the center pile.

"Naruto can have mine," Sasuke repeated, this time with a slight edge to his voice. "I'll...have some milk or something," he added at Iruka's disapproving look.

"Well, okay," Iruka agreed dubiously. "But I really think—"

"Iruka. Stop," Kakashi commanded, his mouth already full.

"Stop what?"

"You're doing it again."

"What? What am I doing?"

Kakashi grinned. "Mother-henning."

Iruka rolled his eyes with a slight sigh, but didn't bother denying it. At any rate, he ceased his fussing. Sasuke collected his promised milk from the fridge, Iruka neatly began eating his three pancakes, and Naruto promptly started stuffing his face—after first drowning his entire plate in syrup and butter, of course. After a few minutes of comfortable sort-of silence, Naruto drained his glass of orange juice and then slumped in his chair, quite full.

"That was really, really good," he announced.

"I'm glad you liked it," Iruka replied with a smile, deftly slicing up his remaining pancake.

Naruto sat in silence for a moment, then asked, rather thoughtfully, "Why is everybody being so nice to me?"

Everyone froze. It was a question each man had wondered, but it had been left unanswered by all.

Why _was_ everyone being so nice to Naruto, Sasuke wondered. It would've been more than kind to allow Naruto to wait out the previous day's storm, let alone letting him stay afterward. So why had Kakashi let him—a mere stray animal, really— spend the night? Why did Sasuke search for especially hard for clothes that he thought would fit Naruto best? Why did both Iruka and Sasuke offer up their breakfasts? Why was each person so compelled to help this Naruto, this beautiful, angel-eyed creature that appeared unannounced and so unceremoniously on Kakashi's doorstep? What was it about him that so irresistibly called out for attention and care? Why...Why...

...Why did he want to love him?

"Because..." Three heads swiveled towards the voice. It came from the most unexpected source in the room. "Because...No one's ever been nice to you before. And...you deserve a little niceness." A pause. "If we aren't nice to you, then we will forever know ourselves as horrible, heartless creatures. Because you deserve niceness. You deserve it."

There was a long, long moment of quiet, and no one hardly dared to breathe.

"But mostly...because...We can't help it with you, Naruto," Sasuke said. "We just can't help it."

And at that moment, he knew he was right. He wanted to love Naruto, and he couldn't help it. He just couldn't help it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, I never have, I never will. I'm not making any money off of this. I'm way too tired to crack disclaimer jokes.

**Warnings:** See first chapter.

**Author's Notes:** Look, look! I'm updating! Yay!

I'm really excited, because I totally like this fic and I'm glad I'm working on it again. I'm not sure exactly what the hell I'm going to do with it plot-wise…but that's okay! I will figure it out at some point! No worries!.:is worried:

* * *

Naruto's face was pink, his breathing uneven. His eyes were wide and hazy as he stared up at Sasuke. "Do—Do I have to do it?" 

"We've already come this far, haven't we?" Sasuke asked by way of an answer.

"B-but...I…I'm not sure if I'm ready. I've never done anything like this before. I—" Naruto swallowed. His gaze slid sideways and his blush intensified. "Sasuke…I'm scared."

Sasuke fought off a smile. "Don't worry," he said gently. "It'll only hurt for a second. It will get better really fast, I promise."

"You promise?"

"Yeah."

Naruto smiled slightly, his blush looking less painful. "O-okay, then. I—I'll do it. I…I trust you, Sasuke."

"You ready?"

Naruto took a deep breath, smiling bravely. "Y-yeah. Yes. I—I'm ready. Let's…do it."

Kakashi rolled his eyes from the driver's seat of the car. "Jeez, will you guys stop that and just get out of the car? It's just school. Sasuke, it sounds like you're trying to talk Naruto into having sex with you."

Sasuke tried to dispel the mental image that comment invoked as Naruto sputtered indignantly, blushing all the way down his neck. Sasuke wondered absently if Naruto got this red only when he was embarrassed, or if he also flushed with pleasure. Did the blush stop at his neck, or did it run all the way down his chest…?

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke blinked. "What?"

"Get out," Kakashi said with no preamble. "I need to get home. Iruka's there."

Sasuke raised a dramatic black eyebrow. "Home? I thought you were teaching today."

Kakashi waved him off. "I am, but don't worry about it. My first class doesn't start till eight-thirty."

"…It's just about eight now, though, and it's a thirty-minute drive back to the house."

Kakashi smiled and wagged his finger at Sasuke. "Now, don't you worry your pretty little head about silly details like that. Kakashi-sensei will take care of everything. Now, out with you. You're running late, and Naru-chan here shouldn't be tardy on his first day."

Naruto swallowed audibly as he was reminded why he was sitting in this car in the first place.

Sasuke sighed. "Whatever, Kakashi," he said. "It's your job, and if you don't show up, fine by me—I'll have one less class." Sasuke popped open the car door and stepped out. When Naruto didn't immediately follow, Sasuke turned around and stuck his head back into the car. His black ears brushed the car roof and twitched in response to the stimulus. He extended a hand to the fox-boy, dark eyes several shades softer than usual. "C'mon, Naruto."

Naruto took a deep breath to steady his nerves, then grinned broadly. He grasped Sasuke's pale hand. "Right," he said. "Let's go!"

* * *

Naruto shifted uncomfortably on the school mat, promptly banging his knee on the underside of the low-hanging table. 

"Ouch," Naruto muttered. "Ne, Sasuke, why can't we sit in chairs?"

"Some H.A.s have trouble sitting in chairs," Sasuke answered, pulling a spiral-bound notebook out of his backpack, "due to complications with tails and other things. The administration thought it would be unfair if some students sat in chairs and others sat on the floor, so now we're all stuck on mats."

"Oh." Naruto blinked. "Ne, Sasuke, what's an 'H.A.'?"

"It's an abbreviation for _homo animalis._ It's too tiring to keep saying _'homo animalis' _again and again."

"Oh. Okay." A short pause. "Ne, Sasuke—"

"Be quiet and stop asking me questions."

"Bastard!"

"Hn." Sasuke took out another notebook and handed it to Naruto. "Here. Take notes."

"Oh, right. Thanks." Naruto stared at the notebook with a small frown of confusion.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "…You _can_ write, right?"

Naruto sent him a glare. "Well, _duh_ I can write. I just…I didn't know you got me a notebook, that's all."

"Ah…don't mention it." A pause. "Ever," Sasuke added.

Naruto shrugged and shifted on his mat. "Ne, Sasuke, when's everyone getting here? Are there a lot of other kids? Do you think they'll hate me?"

"You'll find out as soon as the bell rings."

Naruto huffed, fidgety with impatience and nerves. "Well, when's the bell going to—"

The bell rang. Sasuke smirked.

"…Shut up," Naruto said, put-off.

Sasuke held up his hands in surrender as the classroom door opened and H.A.s flooded inside. Naruto blinked. He'd never seen so many different…_species_…in his life. Kids with bushy tails, kids with claws, kids with fangs, kids with strange coloring, kids with ears worn like hair, and even a kid who seemed to be molting brown feathers as she walked. The weirdest thing was, they interacted with each other as if everything was _normal,_ laughing and pushing each other around just like the humans Naruto saw on the street every day.

Naruto gaped openly as a pretty, completely alien-looking girl seated herself on the place next to Sasuke that Naruto wasn't occupying. Her hair was a vivid color that could only be described as _pink. _She had black markings on both sides of her face and her forehead that swirled together in intricate designs. There was a light dusting of what looked like pink glitter on her arms, neck, and cheekbones. She wore a deep purple halter top, bearing her back so that her small, brilliantly colored red-pink wings were fully visible. Her eyes were large and green, a startling contrast to the almost overwhelming amount of pink on the rest of her body. There were small black dots arranged around her eyes in a circular formation.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun," she cooed.

Sasuke grunted.

The girl blinked, evidently noticing Naruto for the first time.

"Oh, Sasuke," she said. "Who's your friend?"

"He's—"

"The name's Naruto," Naruto interrupted, stretching his arm across Sasuke to offer the girl his hand. "Nice to meet you! Hey, hey, I love your wings! They're so awesome! What species are you?"

The girl smiled at Naruto's flattery.

"My species is Anartia Amather," she said. "That's a red butterfly. I'm of the Haruno breed. My name is Sakura."

"A butterfly? That's so cool. I'd love to have wings. Can you fly?"

It looked like the girl—Sakura—blushed, but it was hard to tell since her face was dusted with pink anyway. She shook her head.

"Not yet," she said. "My wings are too small right now. I won't be able to fly for another ten years or so."

"What she _means_ is," another female voice said from Naruto's left, "her wings are still too small to support her colossal weight. _I'm_ flying in _seven _years."

A girl with a blonde ponytail dropped onto the mat on Naruto's left. She had dust on her skin just as Sakura did, but while Sakura's was pink, this girl's dust was pale yellow. And like Sakura, this girl had black markings on the sides of her face and her forehead, but they were arranged in a different design than Sakura's were. She didn't wear a halter top, but her shirt had a big hole in the back that revealed a pair of bright yellow butterfly wings. This girl's wings were slightly larger and brighter than Sakura's, but they didn't have the same swirl of colors that Sakura's did. Her eyes were blue to Sakura's green, and she lacked the dots around her eyes that Sakura possessed.

"Shut up, Ino!" Sakura flipped her pink hair over her shoulder angrily. "I'm thinner than you are, you pig!"

"At least _my_ forehead doesn't take up half my face!"

"You take that back, porker!"

Naruto glanced at Sasuke with a look of alarm on his face. Sasuke shrugged apathetically, seeming to take absolutely _no_ interest in the surrounding drama.

Naruto swallowed and started to try to ignore the girls' nosy argument when he picked up on a sharp, spicy scent. Next to him, Sasuke stiffened. Naruto blinked and lifted his nose slightly, trying to identify the smell. His ears twitched as someone came up behind him. He turned around. So did Sasuke.

Gracefully dropping to his knees was a creature. He was tall, pale, and visibly muscled, and power came off him in waves. His whole body was tensed and thrumming with barely suppressed energy, as if he could pounce at any moment. His scent was sharp and dominating—an alpha male if Naruto ever smelled one. His red hair was thick and choppy, much more like an animal's fur than human hair. Tiny triangular ears, colored a white-fringed red, sat atop his head. His hands were claws, strong and dangerous. His eyes were ringed in thick black circles—not from eyeliner, but because the actual skin around his eyes was black. His eyes themselves were ferocious. The irises were a luminous, piercing green, and the pupils were elliptical, like a cat's.

Naruto found him fascinating.

The creature glanced into Naruto's face, eyes glittering darkly.

Naruto swallowed. "Um," he said brilliantly. "Hi. I'm…new. My name's Naruto."

The creature regarded Naruto evenly. "Hello, Naruto."

Something akin to a growl came from the back of Sasuke's throat. Naruto shivered at the sound. The creature's eyes flickered over to Sasuke.

"Good morning, Uchiha. Feeling possessive?"

"Fuck off, Gaara," Sasuke spat. His voice was a low snarl.

The creature named Gaara impassively shifted his gaze away from Sasuke in silent dismissal. Gaara looked at Naruto with a fractional inclination of his head.

"I'll see you around, Naruto."

Naruto swallowed again. "Uh, heh-heh…sure."

Naruto turned toward the front of the classroom again, the hair on the back of his neck standing firmly on end. With another feral snarl, Sasuke turned around as well, his muscles tensed and ready to attack. It wasn't until then that Naruto noticed Sakura and the other girl—Ino—had stopped arguing.

The following silence was more than awkward.

Naruto laughed uneasily to break the quiet. He held a hand out to Ino.

"I'm Naruto," he said. "It's—uh—nice to meet you."

"Oh, right," Ino said, shaking his hand. "I'm Ino. _Yellow _butterfly. The Yamanaka breed."

"Gee, another butterfly. I wish I were you guys."

"I dunno…" Ino said, giving Naruto her best smile. Damn, this guy was hot. Was he a cat of some kind? Ino turned on the charm. "Those ears of yours are absolutely adorable." She reached out to touch them.

Ino's hand was stopped in mid-air when Sasuke grabbed her wrist none too gently.

"No touching," he warned lowly.

Ino blinked. "Uh…Sasuke-kun?"

"Just…don't." Sasuke released Ino abruptly and resettled himself into his place. Ino, Sakura, and Naruto all looked at him strangely.

"…Please," Sasuke added as a very late afterthought.

Any other conversation they may have started was cut off abruptly as the bell rang again and the teacher entered, a man with a toothpick hanging out of his mouth. With another confused glance at his new roommate, Naruto made himself as comfortable as possible on his mat, preparing himself to for his first forty-five minutes of school-induced hell.

* * *

When the bell rang at the end of class and H.A. kids bolted for the door, Naruto was among them. In the hallway, Sasuke seized the back of Naruto's shirt before he could carry out his escape plan. 

Damn him.

"No! Sasuke! Please let me go!" Naruto squirmed in Sasuke's iron hold, though he knew from the start it was pointless. "I don't want to do this school-thing anymore! It's too boring!"

"Tough luck, dobe. You don't have an option."

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, seeming to abandon struggling for pouting. Sasuke relaxed slightly, and when Naruto didn't show any signs of trying to flee, he let the blonde go. Sasuke started to head for their next class, carefully navigating his way through a posse of testosterone-high bucks. One of the guys apparently thought it a good idea to charge at solid objects, and presently rammed his antlers into someone's locker. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the resulting clang.

Idiocy wasn't a trait restricted to humans, apparently.

Naruto was momentarily blinded by a freckled rooster's incredible flapping, but when his vision cleared, he noticed that Sasuke was a little ahead. He ran to catch up. "Ne, Sasuke," Naruto asked, resisting a sudden, inexplicable urge to clamp onto Sasuke's arm. "Why do we have to go to school, anyway?"

"Animal Rights activists," Sasuke answered bitterly. "They figured that, since H.A.s have the same brain capacity as humans, we should be given the same opportunity to go to school. Some people like having their H.A.s work 'front man' jobs—a host at a restaurant, a salesperson, a model, stuff like that—jobs heavily based on pleasant aesthetics. Most jobs require at least some mathematic and grammatical knowledge." Sasuke snorted. "Of course, Kakashi couldn't care less about me working. He just wants me out the house so he can fuck his boyfriend over the kitchen table. What a man-whore. Sometimes I wonder if humans rut more than we do, and they just don't talk about it."

Naruto couldn't suppress a blush. _Okay,_ he thought, both embarrassed for Kakashi's sake and uncomfortably turned-on by hearing the words "fuck," "man-whore," and "rut" coming from Sasuke's mouth. _Waaaaaaay too much information!_

Naruto was silent for a few more moments before remembering something.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"Hn.

"What was up with that Gaara guy?"

Sasuke stiffened and stopped walking, right there in the hallway. The fur on his tail was raised in tense spikes. His sleek ears flattened against the top of his head, and the look in his eyes was chilling.

"Sa-Sasuke?" Naruto asked worriedly.

Sasuke blinked and shook his head almost imperceptibly. He resumed walking. Naruto relaxed.

"What about him?" Sasuke asked, his voice carefully neutral.

"Huh?"

"Gaara, dobe."

"Don't call me that!" Naruto's ears twitched angrily before relaxing again. "But, yeah, anyway. That Gaara guy. Why was he all…creepy and shit?"

"Because he's a slutty maniac, that's why."

Naruto briefly wondered how someone could be both slutty and maniacal at the same time without attracting a certain number of authority figures, but he let it slide.

"Alright…" Naruto said, changing tactics. "Well, what species is he? I really couldn't tell."

Sasuke grunted. "Red panda."

Naruto blinked, trying to recall everything he knew about red pandas. It wasn't much. "Oh," he said after a pause. "…I guess that explains the ears, then. And the ringed eyes."

"Hn," Sasuke said. "He's got a tail, too, but it looked like you were too busy checking him out to notice."

Naruto cocked his head. After a long silence, he grinned. "Sasuke…" he joked. "You're not going all 'jealous alpha male' on my ass, are you?"

Sasuke whirled around to face Naruto. It must have been a trick of the light, but it _almost_ looked like he was blushing. That was physically impossible, of course, but it still kind of looked that way, Naruto noticed with glee.

"_No,_" Sasuke answered firmly.

Naruto shrugged, still grinning. Perfect teeth flashed in a tanned face.

"Okay, Sasuke," Naruto said lightly. "It's just—well. It kind of seemed like you were jealous."

"I wasn't. I'm _not._"

"Whatever you say, Sasuke." Naruto grinned some more, his blonde tail swishing happily as they walked. Sasuke didn't know if he wanted to kick him or kiss him.

_Probably more the latter than the former, unfortunately,_ Sasuke conceded sullenly.

Naruto collided into Sasuke's back before he even realized the taller boy had stopped walking.

"Ouch," he muttered, rubbing his nose.

"Watch where you're going, dobe."

"Don't stop so short, bastard!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever. We're here, so quit complaining."

Naruto blinked, looking into the indicated classroom. Then he groaned.

"But I don't wanna!"

"Tough shit." Sasuke seized the excess skin on the scruff of Naruto's neck and began dragging the fox-boy into the room. "C'mon."

"Ouch!" Naruto tried to move his feet fast enough to avoid tripping. Unfortunately, this attempt was made more difficult considering he had to walk backwards_ and_ keep up with Sasuke's typical breakneck speed. "Hey, jerk! Watch it!"

Sasuke unceremoniously dropped Naruto onto a mat and sat down beside him. Naruto growled lowly as he righted himself, straightening his clothes and finger-combing his hair.

Sasuke smirked. Naruto was just so cute when he was flustered.

"G-good morning, U-Uchiha-kun," a timid voice said from behind Naruto.

"Good morning, Hinata-san," Sasuke said politely, half-turning in his seat and nodding in greeting. Naruto turned around as well.

Behind them sat a pale, fragile-looking girl with short black hair. She had very small, circular ears and a dark tail that was even longer and slimmer than Sasuke's. Her face was delicate and sweet, off-set by a startling pair of gray eyes.

When Naruto and the girl made eye-contact, the girl's face turned a dark, dark pink. Naruto wondered briefly if she felt alright.

"Hi!" he chirped. "I'm Naruto! Today's my first day here and so far I hate it. Your name's Hinata, huh?"

The girl nodded mutely, her strange eyes flickering between Naruto's face and the floor.

"Are you a black leopard?"

The girl nodded again.

"That's so cool! Awesome tail. Mine's all bushy and weird." Naruto wrinkled his nose in apparent distaste and waved his tail absently. "But whatever. It's nice to meet you!"

"I-I-It's nice t-to me-meet you t-t-too," Hinata stuttered.

"Hinata-san. Who is this?"

Naruto looked up. And up, and up, and up…

An extremely tall boy towered over Hinata. He had long dark hair pulled back into some sort of ponytail-type style. He bore a strong resemblance to Hinata, gray eyes included—they were probably related in some way. But while Hinata looked very sweet and kind, this guy was all about severity and toughness. His face was made of pretty, sharp angles that had an almost feminine edge to them. On anyone else, he would have looked hopelessly girly, but this guy merely looked like a very elegant, pristine young man with a lovely face.

Which, Naruto supposed, he was.

"Neji-san," Hinata said. She indicated Naruto with a slightly shaking hand. "Th-this is N-N-Na-Naru-Naruto-kun."

"Hi," Naruto said. "Um…Neji, was it?"

"Indeed." Gray eyes gave Naruto a thorough once-over. Naruto felt very naked under the heavy stare.

"Uh…I'm Naruto."

"A pleasure, I'm sure," Neji drawled.

Sasuke's tail lashed. Neji looked at it for a moment, and the grim line of his mouth curved a bit into something like a smirk.

"I'll meet you after class, Hinata-san," Neji said, taking a step back. He inclined his head towards Naruto. "Naruto-kun."

"Err…bye."

Neji nodded in Sasuke's direction. "Uchiha."

"Hyuuga."

"See you in Calculus."

"Hn." Sasuke's tail lashed again.

Neji almost smirked again and then retreated to the back of the classroom. Naruto watched as he gracefully kneeled, sweeping his impressive tail out of the way.

"He's cool," Naruto said. "Is that your brother, Hinata?"

"N-no," Hinata said shyly, almost apologetically. "My cousin."

"Oh. A black leopard, then."

"Yes. Though we're slightly different breeds."

"That's cool. How come—?" But he had to stop talking, because the teacher entered, and class started. Again. Naruto sighed.

* * *

A few hours later, Sasuke watched in mild revulsion as Naruto shoveled in his tray-full of cafeteria food with enthusiasm. He glanced away so he didn't have to look at the way half of Naruto's sloppy-joe was falling out of its bun. 

"Sasuke!" Naruto said, his voice muffled by food. "This is so good! I really like this part of school! How many times a day do they do it?"

"Only once, thank God."

"Aww, really? That sucks!"

"Well, now you have something to look forward to all morning." _And I have something to dread. Jesus, this is disgusting._

Naruto almost choked suddenly as someone collided with the back of his chair and his stomach slammed into the table. He whirled around in a fury.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Me? What about you? Why the hell was your chair out so far?"

"Maybe I like it that way!" Naruto shouted.

"Maybe you should suck in your gut, fatty!" the offender shouted back.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Great. As if his day wasn't hellish enough, now there was Inuzuka Kiba to deal with. Even if Sasuke didn't hate dog breeds on impulse, he wouldn't have liked Inuzuka Kiba. The guy was too loud, too brash, too…_too._ And when you added on the stupid floppy ears, those dumb face markings, and the precondition to hump people's legs, Kiba was nearly unbearable.

Well, to Sasuke, anyway. Aburame "Bug Boy" Shino seemed to like the mutt well enough. But mongrels and fleas always hung out together, didn't they?

"I am not fat!" Naruto was hollering, standing up to jab a finger into Kiba's chest.

"Well, you will be if you keep eating like such a pig!" Kiba countered loudly, his ears twitching in aggravation.

"Well…your ears are dumb!"

"Why you little—!" Kiba pulled back a fist. Sasuke was up in an instant, trying to decide which way would be the fastest to put Kiba out of commission, but before he could move, Aburame Shino had appeared. He reached up and gathered Kiba's dark ears in his hands, rubbing softly and rolling the fur around in his pale fingers.

It was like flipping a switch. Kiba's back arched and his head went back, baring his throat in an unequivocal show of submission. His claws twitched and moved back to grope at Shino's clothes. Tiny shudders made his body tremble, and every patch of skin was starting to flush and visibly heat.

Sasuke almost moaned at the rush of hormones he was suddenly hit with.

After about ten seconds of the display, Shino removed his hands. Kiba made a high whine at the loss, but quieted when Shino started petting and massaging the scruff of his neck.

"I apologize on Kiba's behalf," Shino said, his voice very even. "He's hotheaded, but actually quite harmless. His bark is worse than his bite, you could say."

Naruto sputtered, his face flooded with color. "O-oh. That's okay. No problem."

Shino nodded—at least, it looked like he was nodding. It was hard to tell with his sunglasses and high-collared jacket.

"You're calm now, right?" he murmured into Kiba's shivering ear.

Kiba made a low, weak noise in the back of his throat that sounded like, "Uhn."

"Good." Shino released Kiba and took a step back. "Kiba, perhaps you should apologize. I'm going to get some fresh air." Shino nodded to Sasuke and Naruto, then left the cafeteria.

"Uh…" Kiba's eyes followed Shino until he left the room. "Uh, sorry for calling you fat."

And then he was gone, bolting through the swinging cafeteria doors with his tail wagging behind him.

After a brief silence, Naruto coughed awkwardly into his fist.

"Well…" Naruto said, his blush still rampant. "Um, I'm full. How 'bout you?"

* * *

Naruto practically collapsed into Kakashi's car after the afternoon bell rang. 

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," he moaned into the seat.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shoved the blonde over so he could sit down.

"Quit complaining," Sasuke said. "Today was an easy day."

Naruto moaned again.

Kakashi finished talking to Gai—the awful teacher of Naruto's physical education class who always wore green and tried to make the H.A.s perform advanced gymnastics—and slid into the driver's seat. He turned on the ignition and almost ran Gai over while peeling out of the parking lot.

"So," Kakashi said, happy as a clam, "how'd it go?"

Naruto kicked the back of his chair.

* * *

**A/N:** I know it's a weird place to end the chapter, but this thing is like, 4,000 words already and I've GOT TO GET IT OUT. So, this is what happens. :P Oh! I hope everyone appreciated my Shino/Kiba interlude, because I sure as hell did. I'm thinking about writing a companion one-shot about them. That'd be fun. Hee hee. :winks: 


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